Related Articles

Even the most meticulously-organized program doesn’t always run smoothly. One problem for business owners can occur when the organizational structure of an important program falls apart. This requires quick work on your part to prevent those changes from placing your program in jeopardy. It can be easier to deal with if you've built in backup plans for potential hurdles ahead of time.

Exiting Program Manager

The program manager plays a critical role in program success, and has the best sense of the work breakdown structure, resource allocation and potential bottlenecks and delays. If your program manager resigns in the middle of an effort, this can throw your operation into disarray if the vision for the path for success rests entirely in that individual’s head. That’s why businesses must document all program operations and have backup resources in place to replace critical workers. Large programs should have deputy program managers able to step up to take greater responsibility, while even smaller ones need a second-in-command to ensure your business is covered in case you lose your program manager unexpectedly.

Exiting Client Manager

Program objectives generally result from a collaboration between your business or organization and the customer. When leadership changes on the customer side, that can create uncertainty among your work team. If the commitments aren’t documented, the program scope could be threatened in a hurry. If the new client leaders don’t share the same vision for the importance of the program, the project itself could fall apart thanks to the structural change. You may need to spend some time wooing the new client representative to make sure the transition goes smoothly.

Vanishing Stakeholders

Your program can change radically when stakeholders depart or their level of support changes. If a key proponent of the effort loses faith in its direction or is convinced by others to withdraw support, the rest of the organizational structure may have to change to reflect that gap. This is particularly true if the defection comes from the executive council or another group that has authority over your efforts, which makes stakeholder management critical to project success.

Team Roles Changing

Larger programs have individuals or teams playing key roles. If those teams fall apart, a program manager has to scramble to fill the void. If one of your key differentiators was your outstanding compliance operation, and the team member in charge of that leaves for another position, your value proposition suddenly changes. This may require going outside of your team, or even the company itself, to fill the void.

Loss of Resources

A program’s organizational structure also can fall apart if critical resources don’t materialize. If your program depends on outsourcing IT operations, for example, and the firm you bring on to take care of things can’t handle the work or goes out of business, the schedule might bog down until that is addressed.